How California Is Enhancing Pesticide Registration – and Why It Matters

Before any pesticide can be sold or used in California, it must undergo one of the most comprehensive scientific reviews in the nation. This process – known as pesticide registration – exists for a simple, essential reason: to protect people and the environment.

The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) evaluates pesticides to ensure they meet state and federal safety standards, assessing everything from potential impacts on human health and wildlife to how a product behaves in soil, water, and air. Registration ensures that pest management tools are effective, safe, and aligned with California’s environmental values.

That careful review takes time – but over the past several years, DPR has focused intensely on making the process more transparent, predictable, and efficient without compromising scientific rigor.

The Pesticide Registration Process

A System Built for Today: CalPEST Modernizes the Registration Process

Until recently, much of the registration process relied on legacy, paper-based systems. That meant slower intake, manual data handling, and long waits for applicants trying to understand where their submission stood.

DPR’s transition to the California Pesticide Electronic Submission Tracking system – CalPEST – has fundamentally changed that.

With the launch of the final phase of CalPEST in late 2025, all new submissions are now managed electronically. Applicants can track their progress in real time, submit payments securely online, and receive updates with far more transparency than was possible before. This digital shift has already transformed scientific evaluation.  Evaluation programs can now simultaneously review necessary data, helping reviews progress more efficiently.

Faster, Clearer, and More Predictable Timelines

The 2026 Annual Notice highlights the first full year where CalPEST and enhanced staffing were both in place – and the improvements are significant.

Processing times are down.

Submissions processed through CalPEST are completed significantly faster than those handled through the legacy system. For example, the time to register new products with currently registered active ingredients was approximately twice as fast in CalPEST as in the legacy system (average time of 279 versus 512 days). For the most complex category – new active ingredients – the average times to review in CalPEST were four times faster than in the paper-based system (0.8 versus 3.4 years).

Scientific evaluation queues are shrinking.

Historically, the longest delays occurred while submissions waited in line to be assigned for scientific review. With new staffing and more efficient digital routing, DPR eliminated backlogs in major scientific evaluation programs in 2025. Some programs now have only a handful of items pending at a time – a notable improvement from earlier years.

Real-time visibility for applicants is improving.

Beginning this year, updates on which submission months are currently being processed will be posted online. This offers companies greater predictability and helps the public understand how California maintains its rigorous standards while improving efficiency.

Staffing, Structure, and Smarter Workflows

Technology is only one part of the story. DPR has also made targeted policy and staffing updates to improve timelines.

• An additional registration team – Team Pine – has expanded DPR’s capacity and created more balanced workloads across scientific teams.
• A Submission Prioritization Pilot now allows lower-complexity amendments or time-sensitive updates to move more quickly.
• Updated guidance clarifies which changes require full amendments versus notifications, and which need no submission at all – reducing unnecessary paperwork and rework for both registrants and DPR staff.

Together, these changes mean more submissions move through the system quickly and accurately, without drawing resources away from complex evaluations that require close scientific review.

Preparing for 2027 and Beyond

With the passage of Assembly Bill 2113, DPR has specific statutory timelines for reviewing pesticide registrations beginning in 2027. DPR is on track to meet these requirements.

The department expects to begin initiating evaluations within 30 days of receiving scientific information as early as this year – a major milestone identified in DPR’s Strategic Plan. And with CalPEST now generating more detailed and reliable data than ever before, future timeline notices will offer even clearer insights into how long each part of the registration process takes.

Why This Matters

Efficient pesticide registration isn’t just about processing speed – it’s about bringing safer, more effective tools to Californians sooner.

• For growers and businesses, faster, more predictable timelines support innovation and competitiveness.
• For communities and workers, rigorous review ensures products on the market meet the highest standards for health and environmental protection.
• For California as a whole, a modern, transparent regulatory system advances the state’s leadership in sustainable pest management.

DPR’s recent progress shows what’s possible when modern technology, strategic staffing, and strong scientific oversight come together. And the improvements are not slowing down – more enhancements are underway as the department continues building a registration program that meets the needs of today and anticipates the challenges of tomorrow.